Gas prices jump for 5th straight week

(Gray News) – The national average price of gas went up 11 cents from a week ago, making this the fifth straight week of rising prices.

According to GasBuddy, the national average is $4.57 a gallon, which is up 45.4 cents from a month ago and $1.55 per gallon higher than a year ago.

On the other hand, GasBuddy reports the national average price of diesel fell slightly by 1.7 cents and stands at $5.53 per gallon.

“Gasoline prices surged over the last week to new record highs but have finally started to slow their rise with diesel also finally cooling off,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

Drivers in Alaska saw the highest week-to-week price increase of 31 cents, according to AAA.

Though all states are average over $4 per gallon, AAA reports Oklahoma is the nation’s least-expensive market with the average cost of fuel sitting at $4.04.

“While the coast isn’t clear yet, and prices will be at their highest Memorial Day level ever, I’m hopeful that we could avoid a dreaded national average of $5 per gallon this year,” De Haan said. “Whether or not we’re able to depends on Americans cutting demand in the face of sky-high prices.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February sent prices surging as investors braced for oil supply disruptions caused by the war and embargoes on Russian energy.

The Biden administration responded by unleashing a record amount of oil from U.S. emergency oil stockpiles, announcing March 31 that 1 million barrels a day would be released for six months.

The ongoing effort helped cool oil and gasoline prices off for a bit, but the relief was fleeting and relatively minor.

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